specificwonderland's reviews
846 reviews

So Sad Today: Personal Essays by Melissa Broder

4.5

Loved her writing. This was great. 

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Very much enjoyed this. This is what I wanted Bunny to be like. 

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.25

Ex Machina + Handmaid's Tale 

Even the "okay" guy is a freakazoid. He gets 0 stars but I loved the storytelling! 

Blueschild Baby by George Cain

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Junkies in Harlem in the 40s. Enjoyed his writing. 

My Husband by Maud Ventura

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

YouTube video of weird books. Confirmed this is weird. That epilogue thought!

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

DE. VOURED. 

Couldnt put this one down. I highlighted a lot. Her writing is great, though I wouldn't have known from Bunny. I found that too ethereal and disconnected but maybe I should give it another go. 

Love these characters and obsessions. 

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Rollicking! Enjoyed and would read more from this author or more from Reece's book club. 

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

I went thru a phase where I was reading very depressing Russian books. Things like Cancer Ward, Day in the life of Ivan Ivanovich, the Gulag Archipelago and for some reason, I thought Gogol had written one of these books. As I look back at my reading history and his oeuvre, I see the night before Christmas, which I gave 3 stars. So I don't know why I thought I would like this more, but this was a little meandering and exhaustive. The dialogues are carefully dictated but ultimately rambling. I had a hard time understanding the point. I can see the theme of the hypocrisy of the government with its stupid red tape and bureaucracy, and the boring downstream effects of class when you're not disgustingly rich. I highlighted some funny turns of phrase but I think this would've looked a lot different if it was published rather than published as a WIP. 

To Live by Michael Berry, Yu Hua

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Not sure how I got this added to my TBR but I have 2 hypotheses: 1. Books like The Good Earth which I read in HS and enjoyed 2. Books like Thirst for Love by Mishima that we read in book club 5-10y ago and I also loved. 

If you liked either of those, you will like this. Realistic character studies. Set in the 40s in rural China before and during communist rule. A father's broken journey into and out of parenthood. 

Intensity by Dean Koontz

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So suspenseful! I couldn't put it down and really enjoyed the pacing. What's going to happen next? How will this unfold? Will evil prevail?